Floor protector



Aug. 6, 1963 M. E. HANDLER FLOOR PROTECTOR- Filed Sept. 30, 1960 FIGZ FIG.

FIG.6'

United States Patent 3,099,891 FLUOR PROTECTOR Milton E. Handler. Evanston, Ill., assiguor to S. A. Hirsh Manufacturing Company, Shokie, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Sept. 3 1950, Ser. No. 59,538 2 Qlairns. (ill. 45-137) This invention relates in general to floor protectors and more particularly to a floor protecting device to be mounted on the lower extremities of supporting members of metallic shelving units.

The shelving units of today are primarily formed from metallic channel members which are angularly contoured to provide the desired rigidity and strength necessary for shelving at a great reduction in weight, size and cost over the conventional shelving units of equal capacity formed from Wood. These angularly channeled members present an end surface which has very little area for contact with a supporting floor or surface on which the shelving unit is to be placed. This small surface area of the supporting members combined with the increased weight or capacity of the metallic shelving units permits a concentration of pressure on the supporting surface totaling several hundred pounds per square inch. In addition to the concentration of pressure on the supporting surface, the metallic channels present a very sharp edge which will function like a knife blade when under sufficient pressure and in contact with a softer material. The modernistic design and pleasing outward appearance of todays metallic shelving units is such that they are now commonly used in kitchens, closets, childrens rooms, play rooms, dens, family rooms, etc., rather than primarily in a garage or basement. This widely accepted use permits the sharp edge surfaces of the supporting members to come into physical contact with a plurality of soft materials such as vinyl tile, asphalt tile, hard wood, soft wood, linoleum, carpeting, as well as the harder materials such as concrete, stone and brick, to name a few.

To prevent the severing of these softer materials by the sharp edge supporting members as it stands in place or the mar-ring and scratching of the supporting surface when the shelving unit is repositioned, there has been a plurality of devices and methods used for protection ranging from pads of newspaper to solid glass discs. All of the conventional methods and devices have several shortcomings and disadvantages, such as, the paper quickly severs and becomes a jumbled mass when moving the shelving unit from one area to another, rubber protectors take [a permanent set and will not readily slide and further is likely to form a bond between the rubber surface and the supporting surface besides being bulky and costly to produce, and glass, while having the desired sliding characteristic, is vulnerable to breakage or chipping. Having named but a few of the characteristics of the previous floor protecting devices, it is readily apparent how these and other shortcomings have led to the development of the floor protecting device of this invention.

It is, therefore, the primary object of this invention to provide an improved floor protecting device which eliminates all of the disadvantages of similar conventional devices as set forth above.

A specific object of this invention is to provide an improved floor protecting device which is releasably secured to the lower portion of a supporting member of a shelving unit to prevent damage to the supporting surface.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved floor protecting device which substantially increases the surface area in contact with the supporting 3,999,891 Patented Aug. 6, 1963 ice surface to distribute the downward pressure of a shelf supporting member over a greater surface area.

A further object of this invention is to povide. an improved floor protecting device having a plurality of internal integrally formed vertical ribs for resiliently securing the protector of this invention to a lower portion of a shelf supporting member.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improved floor protecting device which has substantially the same overall contour as the extreme end surface of a shelf supporting member.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved floor protecting device which is formed from a high impact plastic to provide strength and durability plus the desirable sliding characteristic between its lower floor contacting surface and the floor supporting surface.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improved floor protecting device which is simple in design, rugged in construction, economical to manufacture and in addition to its protecting characteristics enhances the overall outward appearance of the shelving unit and may be readily formed in a plurality of desirable colors.

Other and further objects, advantages and features of the present invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the following description taken in conjunction with the following drawings in which similar reference characters relate to similar parts and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shelving unit in which the floor protectors of this invention are secured;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a lower portion of one of a shelf supporting member of a shelving unit shown in FIG. 1 with a protector of this invenvention mounted thereon;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional layout view taken along the line 55 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional layout view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 4. I

By way of generalization and for a better understanding of the detailed description and features of this invention to follow, the floor protector is characterized by its formation as one integral unit from a high impact plastic having an external contour substantially the same as a crosssection contour of 13. shelving support member and a smooth lower surface of greater area between the end of the supporting member and the surface on which the shelving unit is positioned to prevent damage thereto. Another salient feature of the floor protector of this invention is the resilient securing of the protector to the shelf supporting member by a plurality of equally spaced inner rib members which retains it in place regardless of whether the shelving unit is raised above or repositioned on the supporting surface. In addition, the unique compact design, providing straight side walls and close fit to the supporting member, provides protection for the end of the supporting member against corrosive cleaning solutions and materials and prevents the collecting of dirt and moisture on the inside of the protector which is common to prior floor protecting devices. Furthermore, the smooth, flat plastic floor contacting surface having side walls extending straight upwardly therefrom not only provides ease of cleaning about the shelving unit but eliminates any tell-tale stains to be evidenced on the supporting surface upon relocating the shelving unit. The angular periphery of the lioor contacting surface permits at least a portion of the protector to always be positioned across the gra n when the shelving unit is placed on a wood fioor which substantially reduces the amount of indentation 3 formed, it being common knowledge that wood offers a greater resistance to deformation by an article positioned across the grain than when the same article is positioned thereon with the grain. In similar manner, this angular periphery of the floor contacting surface when the shelving unit is placed on carpeting and then relocated, per mits the return of the nap to an upright position with greater ease and in less time than if a large, solid area of the nap had been deformed.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a metallic shelving unit to which the floor protectors, denoted by the numeral 10, of this invention are applied. As best seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the protector 10 has an outer contour substantially the same as a supporting shelf member 12 and is positioned on a lowermost portion 14 thereof to provide a high impact plastic material between the extreme end of the supporting member and a floor surface 16.

Referring now to FIGS. 3, 4, and 6, the protector has, a lower smooth floor contacting surface 18 with upwardly extending sidewalls 20 integrally formed about its periphery. As best seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 the lower surface 18 has a wall thickness substantially greater than that of the side walls '20 and has an external contour substantially that of a cross-section of the support 12 with an enlarged area 22 formed about each of the rounded edge portions 24, of the supporting member. This addi tional surface area permits a greater distribution of the downward force which willeliminate the concentration of pressure that causes the undesirable marring or digging of the floor supporting surface and it is so positioned relative to the inner side of the supporting member that the outward appearance of the shelving unit is not altered. A forward portion 26 and central rearward portion 28, intermediate the rounded ends of the side walls '22, conform to the external contour of the supporting member '12, The forward portion 26 is in surface to surface contact with-the forward portion of the supporting member when the protector is mounted thereon, whereas the rear portion 28 is heldin spaced relationship therefrom by a plurality of vertically extending securing ribs 30 and 32- integrally formed on the inner surfaces thereof.

As readily viewed in FIGS. 5 and 6, the ribs 30 extend the entire height of the rear portion 28 and the ribs 32 extend upwardly only a portion-thereof to a point substantially above the mid point of the Wall. The ribs are equally spaced in pairs to make surface contact with corresponding surfaces 3-4 of backward extending portions 36 of the supporting member 12. The ribs are designed to provide a space between their innermost surface and the inside surface of the forward wall 26 of the protector which is substantially less than the thickness of the metal of the backward extending portions 36 of the supporting member. It being readily apparent that as the protector is placed on the lower extremities of the supporting member, the ribs will be forced outwardly with the resiliency of the plastic material providing sufiicient force to retain the protector in the mounted position. Since the relatively thin side walls are integral 'with the bottom surface, it is readily understandable that there is greater rigidity and resistance to expansion by the interference of the supporting member at the lower surface and therefore, the lower portions of the ribs 30 and the entire length of the ribs 32 provide a greater clamping or gripping action than the upper portions of, ribs 30. This resilient gripping force, as previously mentioned, is sufficient to retain the protector on the supporting member regardless whether theshelving unit. is raised above or slid across the supporting surface. A positive downward force on the protector is required to remove it from the supporting member.

From the foregoing description it is readily apparent how the objects of this invention are attained and to those skilled in the art it is obvious that the protector of this invention provides the necessary increase in surface area to distribute the concentration of the pressure exerted by the supporting members sufficiently to prevent damage to the supporting surface and also provides a floor contacting surface which will not damage the supporting surface even when a sliding relationship therebetween is formed when repositioning the shelving unit. Furthermore, the unique characteristics of the high impact plastic from which the protector is formed provides not only durability, strength and resiliency for securing, but permits economical formation of a single integral unit in substantially any desired color to enhance the overall outward appearance of the shelving unit.

The invention may be subject to numerous modifications well within the purview of the inventor who only intends to be limited to a liberal interpretation of the specification and appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A floor protector for attachment to the lower extremity of a supporting member for a shelving unit comprising, a front wall having a central section and two side sections integral with said central section and extending rearwardly therefrom, said front wall being contoured for surface to surface contact with said supporting member, end wallsintegral with outer extremities of said side sections, each said end wall being curved rearwardly upon itself to form a re-entrant end wall section extending in substantially spaced, parallel relationship to the side section integral with said end wall, a rear wall extending in substantially spaced, parallel relationship to said front wall and having a plurality of spaced retaining means for contact with said supporting member disposed along the inner surface thereof, said rear wall being closely spaced to said front wall and including rearwardly extending end sections integral with said re-entrant end wall sections at the outer extremities thereof, said end sections cooperating with said end walls to form enlarged portions at the outer extremities of said protector positioned rearwardly of the central section of said front wall, and a bottom wall bearing surface integral with said front, rear and end walls and extending in a plane substantially perpendicular thereto to form a unitary enclosure, the peripheral configuration of said bottom wall bearing surface being defined by the contour of said front, side, and end walls, thereby providing a bearing surface having enlarged, rearwardly disposed end bearing sections at the outer extremities of an angularly contoured central bearing section.

2. The floor protector of claim 1 in which said plurality of spaced retaining means constitute a plurality of vertically extending spaced ribs integral with the inner surface of said rear wall to engage the supporting member and releasably secure the protector thereto, said ribs being formed in pairs wherein one of said pair extends upwardly from a point adjacent said bottom wall for the entire height of said rear wall while the remaining rib extends upwardly to a point substantially past the midpoint of said rear wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A FLOOR PROTECTOR FOR ATTACHMENT TO THE LOWER EXTREMITY OF A SUPPORTING MEMBER FOR A SHELVING UNIT COMPRISING, A FRONT WALL HAVING A CENTRAL SECTION AND TWO SIDE SECTIONS INTEGRAL WITH SAID CENTRAL SECTION AND EXTENDING REARWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID FRONT WALL BEING CONTOURED FOR SURFACE TO SURFACE CONTACT WITH SAID SUPPORTING MEMBER, END WALLS INTEGRAL WITH OUTER EXTREMITIES OF SAID SIDE SECTIONS, EACH SAID END WALL BEING CURVED REARWARDLY UPON ITSELF TO FORM A RE-ENTRANT END WALL SECTION EXTENDING IN SUBSTANTIALLY SPACED, PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP TO THE SIDE SECTION INTEGRAL WITH SAID END WALL, A REAR WALL EXTENDING IN SUBSTANTIALLY SPACED, PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP TO SAID FRONT WALL AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF SPACED RETAINING MEANS FOR CONTACT WITH SAID SUPPORTING MEMBER DISPOSED ALONG THE INNER SURFACE THEREOF, SAID REAR WALL BEING CLOSELY SPACED TO SAID FRONT WALL AND INCLUDING REARWARD- 